Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- A Mauritian non-governmental organisation, Ledikasyon Pu Travayer (LPT), said Wednesday that the Creole language has registered immense progress which no other language has realised in Mauritius in the past decade. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Three documentaries on the lives of South African women with disabilities are being screened at film festivals throughout the country this month. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- South Africa's Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad arrived in Bamako, Mali Tuesday to sign an agreement on a project to preserve some of the Timbuktu manuscripts. Full text...

Sumbe- Angola (PANA) -- Some 250,000 US dollars has been set aside to help finance an international music festival known as Festisumbe which will take place from 16 to 17 August in Sumbe, Angola's coastal city in the central Kwanza Sul Province. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- Some 96 Kenyans are in Seychelles in search of their ancestral roots, according to sources at the Foreign Ministry in Seychelles The sources said the Kenyans, who arrived Thursday would be spending two weeks on the fact-finding mission. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- Christine-Tolbert Norman, eldest daughter of the late Liberian President, William R. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (PANA) -- The Malian Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Malian Copyrights Bureau (BMDA) has launched a fool-proof stamp meant to fight more efficiently against musical piracy. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan(PANA) -- Researchers have unearthed a first century temple in Berber district 250 km north of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. Full text...

Yaounde- Cameroon (PANA) -- The second International Jazz Festival is underway in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- Reunion's band "Oussanoussava" which is popular because of its traditional "Sega" style leaves Saint Denis Sunday for a tour in Zimbabwe, musical sources disclosed in Saint Denis Thursday. Full text...

Addis Ababa Ethiopia (PANA) -- At least 11 Arab countries are expected to take part in cultural performances to be staged in the Ethiopian capital for a week from 7 June. Full text...

Johannesburg- South Africa (PANA) -- Mbongeni Ngema a renowned South African musician has defended racist lyrics on his new CD "Amandiya," saying he just wanted to provoke a race relations debate. Full text...

London- UK (PANA) -- South Africa's renowned choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, is due in London Wednesday to begin a European tour, which includes performances in some major cities in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently launched an album of songs by several West African artists in Cotonou to sensitise the public towards a culture of peace and the need to ensure the promotion of human rights. Full text...

Ludzidzini- Swaziland (PANA) -- Swaziland's King Mswati III over the weekend officially married an eighth wife who had been his fiancee for almost five years now. Full text...

Luanda- Angola (PANA) -- Top Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango and his Band are expected to stage a show in Luanda next week at the invitation of the Angolan Public Television (TPA), which launches its new logo and programmes on 28 May. Full text...

Moroto- Uganda (PANA) -- By her dress, one can tell the social status of a Karamojong woman. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Senegalese choreographer Germaine Acogny has inaugurated an international school of African dances dubbed "Jant Bi" at Toubab Dialaw about 40-km from Dakar, the national capital. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) -- Ouagadougou is hosting an international colloquium on "Culture, factor of identity, unity and openness" aimed at sub-regional cultural promotion. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) -- Two Burkinabe broadcasters covering a symposium on culture as a factor of unity and identity were Tuesday bitter about difficulties obtaining interviews in any of the local dialects. Full text...

Abidjan- Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) -- Man, a region located 600 km west of Abidjan is renowned in Côte d'Ivoire for its cultural diversity, characterised by "Wê" masks, named after the local inhabitants. Full text...

Porto Novo- Benin (PANA) -- Some 20 curators of the West African museums are undergoing training at the headquarters of the African Heritage School (EPA) in Porto Novo on the development and management of educational programmes in museums. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Women from 21 African countries met in Dakar in a preliminary meeting to set up a project known as "Women's Voices Africa. Full text...

Blantyre- Malawi (PANA) -- Family members and the Rastafarian community in Malawi have reacted angrily at the outcome of a presidential commission of inquiry into the mysterious death last year of the country's controversial reggae king, Evison Matafale. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) -- At least 100 musicians from seven countries are expected to perform during the 10th "Ouagadougou Jazz Festival" from 26 April to 4 May. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- The picture of two young girls, stripped to the waist with their faces covered with clay, highlights the photographs of "naked women" being exhibited at the French Cultural Centre in Cotonou. Full text...

Algiers- Algeria (PANA) -- Algiers will throughout May host cultural events from various countries of the European Union as part of the third edition of the European cultural festival. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- The third African film festival of Brussels dubbed "Mwinda", continues till 30 April, the organiser of the event, Mbeka Mabiala said. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- More than 500 South African and overseas dancers will gather at Sun City's Superbowl from Friday to Sunday to take part in the famous Battle of the Giants All Styles Dance Festival. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- Among Sudanese, the mention of Mohammed Wardi is like transmitting a signature tune on television or radio. Full text...

Blantyre- Malawi (PANA) -- A Presidential Commission of inquiry into the 26 November 2001 death in police custody of Malawi's reggae king, Evison Matafale, said Friday the singer died of "natural causes. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa Friday left for a week-long investment promotion mission to the United States and Canada to promote the South African province of Gauteng as a location for film productions. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- To curb rising music piracy, the Kenyan government plans to enact a copyright law with deterrent measures against offenders. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- A humorist of Cameroonian and French origins, Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, said in Paris Wednesday he had received serious threats from some Jewish extremists. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Delegates --including African leaders-- to the Dakar Conference on the financing of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Tuesday visited the site of the African Renaissance Monument initiated by Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- Local and international archaeologists are racing against time to save the antiquities and monuments of Sudan's ancient Nubian civilisation, which could be submerged under the waters of the Merowe Dam, billed for completion in 2008, some 600-km north of Khartoum. Full text...

Montreal- Canada (PANA) -- The 18th Film Festival 'Vues d'Afrique', offering ten prizes, will be hold 19-27 April in Montreal, Canada, according to organisers. Full text...

Gaborone- Botswana (PANA) -- Final preparations are underway in Gaborone for this year's spectacular Maitisong Arts and Music festival that showcases the works of internationally acclaimed playwrights like Athol Fugard and Jazz Maestro Steve Dyer, among other African artists. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- A mummified corpse of a man believed to have lived in the third century BC has been unearthed in the Sudanese locality of Nuri along the River Nile, about 600 km north of Khartoum. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (PANA) -- Mali's Culture minister Pascal Baba Coulibaly has announced a decision by the government to ratify the Florence Convention. Full text...

Johannesburg- South Africa (PANA) -- South Africa's best music group, Bongo Mufin, said their US tour would go ahead despite the deportation of "Appleseed" the band's Zimbabwean lead vocalist. Full text...

London- UK (PANA) -- The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association is calling for short stories for radio from talented writers for the 2002 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- UNESCO announced Wednesday that the themes of reconciliation and development are the main focus of its activities in 2002, the year it has dedicated to cultural heritage. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Belgium's Association for Cultural Promotion, under the country's federal department for co-operation, plans to organise simultaneously in Liege and Antwerp, a big cultural event dubbed "Africalia 2003" from March to October next year. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PAN) -- Africalia, a cultural promotion association set up by Belgium's federal department of development cooperation, will provide financial support to the DAK'ART biennial slated for May in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Full text...

Algiers- Algeria (PANA) -- "Little Senegal," a feature film by Algerian Rachid Bouchareb, will be shown on 6 April at the Oran film theatre in Algiers, the Algerian capital. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Belgian authorities intend to modernise an African district in Brussels that was abandoned following the murder of a 25-year-old Congolese on 22 March. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Belgium's cultural promotion association "Africalia" will support two dance training projects this year in Mozambique and Senegal, as well as literary projects in Burkina Faso and Mali. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Alliance Ethio-Francaise, the French and Canadian embassies in Ethiopia and the International Francophonie Organisation have announced a musical concert for 21 March in Addis Ababa, to feature Congolese musician Casimir Soba, Alias Zao. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Lubumbashi city in the Democratic Republic of Congo is among 10 cities chosen by UNESCO from 76 entries to receive the Cities for Peace prizes for 2000-2001. Full text...